​Our mission

To empower undocumented youth and fulfill their human right to education

Freedom University is a modern-day freedom school based in Atlanta. We provide rigorous college preparation classes, college and scholarship application assistance, and leadership development for undocumented students in Georgia.

OUR HISTORY

Freedom University was founded in 2011 by a coalition of undocumented students, immigrant rights activists, and four professors at the University of Georgia - Dr. Betina Kaplan, Dr. Lorgia Garcia-Peña, Dr. Pamela Voekel, and Dr. Bethany Moreton. Freedom University opened its doors in Athens, Georgia in October 2011 following the passage of Georgia Board of Regents Policy 4.1.6, which bans undocumented youth from attending Georgia's top public universities, and Policy 4.3.4, which bans undocumented students from in-state tuition. While the state of Georgia banned undocumented students from public universities, Freedom University provided a safe space where undocumented students could continue their education. In its early years, the curriculum at Freedom University involved a humanities-based course on Sunday afternoons in a community center in Athens.

In Spring 2014, the founding professors departed the organization to accept positions at Harvard and Dartmouth. One professor went on to establish U-Lead, an after school program for immigrant high school students in Athens. Dr. Laura Emiko Soltis, who had previously served as a volunteer faculty member at Freedom University, was appointed Freedom University's Executive Director and first staff member. In August 2014, Freedom University was relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in order to develop a strong network of allied social justice organizations and accommodate the majority of students living in the Atlanta-metro area. Soltis implemented a new horizontal leadership structure by forming an active Board of Directors and Student Committee comprised of elected undocumented student leaders. As an experienced human rights educator and social movements scholar, Soltis recruited faculty from across Atlanta university campuses and expanded the curriculum based on student surveys to include Border Studies and Immigration History, debate and public speaking, arts courses in music and creative writing, STEM classes, college preparation, a summer SAT bootcamp, and health and well-being classes. As a longtime student activist in the South, Soltis also introduced a human rights framework to strengthen Freedom University's advocacy work, developed relationships with other student, labor, immigrant rights, and racial justice movements, and instituted a rigorous movement leadership program to empower undocumented youth. As a result, Freedom University students are not only learning from top faculty in Atlanta and earning full scholarships to college, they are effectively leading and carrying out a multi-dimensional movement strategy to change private university admissions policies and advance equal access to higher education across the United States.

Today, Freedom University's curriculum involves four, 75-minute classes in human rights, language arts, biological sciences, college preparation and SAT tutoring, as well as skills-based training in social movement leadership and self-care. Freedom University also provides students with access to free mental health services in its network of pro-bono mental health professionals, and monthly "Know Your Rights" trainings to protect students and their families in interactions with law enforcement or immigration agents.

While more than 22 states allow undocumented students to attend public universities or qualify for in-state tuition, Georgia is the only state in the country to ban students both from select universities and from in-state tuition. These policies effectively target and exclude undocumented students and usher in a modern era of educational segregation in the U.S. South. We believe that the immigrant rights movement is only as strong as its weakest link. By lifting up the South, and by following the lead of undocumented students in the most discriminatory states, we can lift up the entire country.

Since the 2016 election, Freedom University has taken a leadership role in the national sanctuary campus movement. In April 2017, Georgia passed HB 37, the nation's first "Anti-Sanctuary Campus Bill" that targets private universities for protecting its undocumented students. In response, Freedom University has served as a meeting and training center for student activists across Atlanta, bringing together a diverse coalition of student leaders and civil rights veterans to write "A New Appeal for Human Rights" and develop an emergency alert and rapid response system called the Mass Emergency Lookout Text for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (MELT ICE).

OUR CORE BELIEFS

We believe that all human beings – regardless of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or citizenship status – have a right to education. We uphold Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to education and that higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

We believe that human rights are universal, inalienable, and interdependent. Regardless of where people are born or what borders they may cross, human beings have rights by virtue of their humanity that can never be taken away. Because human rights are interdependent, we believe that are movements for human dignity are interdependent as well. As such, Freedom University partners with human rights organizations working to advance racial justice, gender equality, workers’ rights, indigenous rights, and freedom in all its forms.

OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY

Freedom University accepts students ages 16-25 who identify as undocumented youth. We welcome fully undocumented students, students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and survivors of human trafficking. Our students come from Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, West Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. Our only requirement for admission is that students commit to believing in themselves, supporting their undocumented peers, and never giving up on their dream of higher education.

Our faculty members are fully committed to providing undocumented students high quality academic courses that prepare them for admission to selective universities. Our faculty members are full-time faculty at Emory University, Morehouse College, Georgia State University, and Georgia Tech, and volunteer their time at Freedom University to teach rigorous courses in human rights, social sciences, biological sciences, language arts, and creative arts. Our educational programs provide leadership development, public engagement opportunities, and movement skill-building to empower a new generation of undocumented youth leaders.

OUR STRATEGY

Georgia is recognized globally as a historic epicenter in the struggle for human rights. Georgia is home to two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Jimmy Carter - and the cradle of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. In this tradition, Freedom University works actively with students, educators, supporters, policy makers, and other social justice stakeholders to advance the rights of undocumented youth in Georgia and across the country. Our strategy is multidimensional, participatory, and highly disciplined. Our strategy involves:

Creative non-violent civil disobedience that highlights modern segregation and targets the Georgia Board of Regents

Campaigns to secure fair admissions and sanctuary policies at private universities across the country

Legal action at the federal level that seeks remedy for violations of undocumented students’ right to equal protection under the law

International human rights advocacy that involves coordination with international legal mechanisms and the United Nations system

Through strategic direct actions, policy campaigns, and local, national, and international partnerships, we are changing college admissions policies and transforming the public debate on the human right to higher education.

OUR RECORD OF SUCCESS

As a result of our work, one out of every five Freedom University students wins a full merit scholarship to college. Our graduates are now students at colleges such as Dartmouth College, Smith College, Emory University, Hampshire College, Berea College, Tougaloo College, and many others. As a result of our collaboration with the Freedom at Emory Initiative, Emory University announced in April 2015 that it would accept qualified undocumented students and provide privately funded, need-based financial aid to those who qualify. We are building a powerful documented/undocumented student movement that will win fair admissions policies across the country and give rise to a new generation of movement leaders.

​Because we do not charge our students tuition, our sustainability relies on the generosity of friends and donors around the world.​Thank you for supporting Freedom University and our vital work educating and empowering undocumented youth in Georgia.